One On Onehttp://oneonone.com
Inspired Senior SalesThu, 08 Mar 2018 00:30:24 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.4All you need is Love!http://oneonone.com/all-you-need-is-love/
http://oneonone.com/all-you-need-is-love/#respondThu, 19 Dec 2013 20:30:18 +0000http://www.oneonone.com/?p=1742All you need is Love! Powerful stuff. This article is very instructive as to what we need to connect with Prospects. To me the prescription for “therapeutic empathy” is right on. Success follows we are willing “to go out on a limb at an emotional level in the relationship, to actually struggle with the [Prospect] and with oneself.”

]]>http://oneonone.com/all-you-need-is-love/feed/0Shining a Brighter Light on ALhttp://oneonone.com/shining-a-brighter-light-on-al/
http://oneonone.com/shining-a-brighter-light-on-al/#respondTue, 30 Jul 2013 16:59:22 +0000http://www.oneonone.com/?p=1690Tonight, PBS Frontline will air an investigative report entitled “Life and Death in Assisted Living,” also featured on PBS’s website.

pbs.org

Unfortunately for the industry, Frontline focuses on a handful of negative stories and has so far painted a picture of AL as big business with little concern for the well-being of its customers. Stories revolve around those seemingly unshakable stereotypes of neglect and dehumanization that hold prospective residents back from the benefits of senior living.

However, we should acknowledge problems within the industry, particularly with big-portfolio companies that continue to widen the gap between owners and the people they serve. But there is another side to the story that needs to be told, one of assisted living saving and improving lives.

Those familiar with One On One’s philosophy of Prospect-Centered Selling know that the time and resources put towards a prospective resident builds strong connections between them and the community. Sales meetings should involve owners and focus on the prospect as someone in need of help. With an improved sales culture, it’s our hope that service and quality of care will better meet the needs of seniors in need.

]]>http://oneonone.com/shining-a-brighter-light-on-al/feed/0Responses From June Traininghttp://oneonone.com/responses-from-june-training/
http://oneonone.com/responses-from-june-training/#respondThu, 20 Jun 2013 19:33:22 +0000http://www.oneonone.com/?p=1667One On One recently trained a group of senior living professionals at The Gatesworth in St. Louis. Below is some of the praise for the program and ways that One On One’s selling style will help in the attendees’ sales efforts. Thanks to everyone who came!

I’m very thankful for excellent examples you showcased. I’ve always been a long, long discoverer when I toured walk-ins and community visits. Others have often thought I was wasting time or it was an unnecessary process to get all of the personal info. It makes me feel good to know I was on the right track.

I loved the personalities of those leading the group: sincere, non-judgmental, open and honest. Rare personalities.

[Training] created my awareness of my ego that gets in the way, and you have given me great tools to recognize and shift my thinking.

Best part—reminding all participants to stay with the intention to be of service and to authentically help seniors in need of change.

I really appreciate the “non-sales” perspective. I want to know my prospects and help them regardless of if they move to my facility or not. Great training, can’t wait to come to the next one!

You gave me the permission to take the time to really know prospects.

This training has taught me about discovery questions and ambivalence! I feel so excited to get back and start digging/probing. I will use all of this training. This has really brought all of my previous training full-circle. Thank you!

Our company has already implemented the One On One training, but actually coming to the class and seeing the entire process from start to finish has given me a confirmation that this will work and does work. I’m excited to go out and make a difference in someone’s life!

Coming from a hotel sales background, I have gone through many training programs, and this by far the most insightful and thought-provoking. Thank you!

[The training] will help me solve our staleness in our department.

I have learned many different techniques and ways to approach prospective residents. [Training] also has given me a new way of looking at what I do and I will be more aware when talking to prospects.

I will no longer assume that I know. I will ask the questions, be less tentative calling those leads which I previously considered closed. There could be more to the story. I strongly believe this was time well spent. I am taking many things back to my job. Thank you!

Training reminded me of what I love about our industry—listening to stories and helping people. Great to learn how both can make a community successful.

One On One training makes me become more effective in so many aspects that affect people’s lives in positive ways. Great training. Always look forward to refresher classes and the excitement that it brings to our team.

For me, just the complete idea of getting emotionally involved with your prospects [will assist selling efforts]… getting to know your residents prior to being residents. This class was amazing. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot that will help me in my current field of work.

Question, question, question. I was doing well in CFUs, now I have better ideas.

I love the new sMART grid. It is a great roadmap for determining where a prospect is in the process.

I really liked the concept of Stages of Change and how to direct conversation based on each stage. Also, NO feature dumping! Being OK with just getting to know the person and going from there. I am so glad I came! I can’t wait to fill our community with these new approaches!

]]>http://oneonone.com/responses-from-june-training/feed/0Being A Sales Herohttp://oneonone.com/being-a-sales-hero/
http://oneonone.com/being-a-sales-hero/#respondTue, 18 Jun 2013 21:04:37 +0000http://www.oneonone.com/?p=1656With the latest Superman movie in theaters, comic-book heroes are in the public eye once again. But what do caped crusaders have to do with senior sales?

Sales training attendee Jennifer English, of Keystone Woods in Springfield, MA, identifies with a female super-character in order to overcome obstacles (including a fear of rejection) and to find ways better help her prospects in need. Her hero of choice is Power Girl, who hails from the same planet as Superman, and possesses powers that any crime fighter, or sales counselor for that matter, would use in order to rescue those in need.

Jennifer English channels her inner Power Girl

“With her special powers, she would be able to block out all but what she needs to focus on,” English says. “Using her special vision, she could concentrate on the prospect’s story, who they were, who they are and who they will be while living with us… She is not only a super-heroine with super strength to save the world from disasters, she is also a superhero when it comes to knowing how to make a connection with other people, using her special powers to get inside the head and heart of those she talks to… Power Girl stays on track, not allowing her focus to lessen. She stays on the same path with the prospect, understanding that they will make the choice to do what is right for them, and no matter what, she does the right thing for the prospects and their families.”

Anyone can relate to a heroic figure in their lives. One On One Principal David Smith, for example, identifies with a character from his childhood, The Lone Ranger, when he meets with a prospect and determines if senior living will change their lives for the better.

What character or symbol do you relate to when helping seniors in need?

The prospect had said earlier that she was “waiting for a sign,” and worried that the food would be too hard on her “sensitive tummy.”

Cedarvale responded with the following:

]]>http://oneonone.com/a-clever-cfu-from-cedarvale/feed/0Trainees Weigh Inhttp://oneonone.com/trainees-weigh-in/
http://oneonone.com/trainees-weigh-in/#respondTue, 12 Feb 2013 15:45:09 +0000http://www.oneonone.com/?p=1315One On One has received a lot of feedback including success stories and new ways to adapt Prospect-Centered Selling. Read a few of the responses to our anonymous surveys below. Thanks again, trainees!

Follow-up Success:

WONDERFUL NEWS!!

Before training I was doing about 3-4 move ins a month. We were not at goal (120). March we had 5 move ins April we had 5 move ins and the May we had a 13 year record of EIGHT move ins!!!! We hit goal and currently we are at 124 with three more move ins for this month so far!

It’s a new way of thinking about sales, but right on target! Enjoyed the networking opportunities as well!

I will be training others, specifically on slowing down and aligning themselves with the prospect.

It was clear that the leaders cared about our success.

A refreshing approach!

Alex and David are great presenters/teachers. Everything is presented well, planned well and taught well. I really enjoyed it.

I love the personal touch. It makes so much sense to just talk and get to know [prospects].

Very interesting and informative. Super excited to put some of your ideas to use.

This will make our team much more effective. I will help my team focus on the Selling Zone tasks.

As I work with our sales staff in all of our communities, we will focus on a better way to classify leads, move them forward through the process and spend more time with an existing lead base. We will be implementing these techniques into our trainings going forward.

I feel that the training will help me within the Discovery period and help me build better relationships and trust with out prospects. This will help me get more higher-functioning prospects to become residents.

I will now spend less time, energy and money on generating leads, which I have a surplus of, and more time advancing leads and moving in new residents!

Respondents from 2013 St. Louis trainings:

This is a refreshing, whole new way to approach our sales process. I am excited to implement it with our entire team.

This is the first workshop I have attended where I took notes, much less non-stop. Loved it!!!

Great eye-opener to things we never saw as areas needing improvement. This will slow us down and get us to really connect the right way with prospects.

[Training] will assist me in moving prospects along the process through advances. [It] helped me with better questions and in-depth discovery. Really useful in breaking down my past selling techniques and how to convert lower-acuity residents who, in my prior life, would be considered cold.

This has been very helpful… I realize how we need to change our mindset and our “system.” This workshop gave me so many ideas on the strategies we can do to make this happen!

This training really helped fine tune things for me. One On One is the training that felt most natural to me. I think what other companies try to teach really is unnatural. Thank you for everything; it was awesome.

Instead of hot and cold leads, I feel I have tools to move people through the stages of change. I won’t be helpless.

Excellent program. Your program was so highly recommended, better than expected… I have learned so much. I also appreciate your data-driven research too.

This training is absolutely what I need! The information and passion of your team motivates me to be more curious!

Will try to incorporate a mindset change in company of deeper relationship-building, slowing down, and stop treating a resident’s move as a “business transaction.” I truly enjoyed the workshop… a real “game changer.”

Thank you for the wonderful training last week. I was able to start this week off renewed and ready to apply the new process of SLOWING DOWN! The training was so helpful, and I can see where principles can be applied even beyond my daily work relationships. Thank you again and I will pass on my success stories!

I have a new outlook on how to aid prospects and families. I look forward to putting this new-found information and knowledge to use in my facility. Thanks for opening my eyes to selling in a new way!

I never thought of aligning and agreeing with what [prospects] are saying. Before, I would I would try to fix [their situation], or say, ‘it will be better here,’ rather than to agree with them and validate that they feel that way.

Lots of great information in the binder to refer to, [including] identifying which stage a prospect is in and how to move them along to the next stage.

[Training] will help me get better with discovery and learning with [prospects] to get them through sustain talk [sustain talk is the prospect’s way of delaying a decision or action].

This training will enable me to go deeper and feel comfortable getting the “stories” from people. It will assist in taking that quality time to build or continue to build relationships with future or present clients. I called a potential resident to follow up, and in the conversation, he mentioned that his daughter was coming to visit him and how he wished that she could meet me. I suggested that I would be happy to visit him in his home and bring him a “breath of spring.” He was delighted that I would do this, and I will be taking a potted spring arrangement to his home. In meeting the daughter and seeing this gentleman in his home, I hope to move him from the “thinking” phase to “planning” and, finally, committing to move in.

In a tour right after our training session, the couple were a example of Ed and Rozine, only reversed[Ed and Rozine are prospects whose story is featured in One On One training: Ed has both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and is hesitant to move; Rozine knows they both need to move, but won’t without Ed’s approval]. The husband was waiting for his wife to state she was ready to go. With having the training so fresh in my mind, I was able to hear their stories, their fears and frustrations. They then asked what my option was of their home situation. I told them I could certainly give them an idea of what some other people had done in their situation, but at the end of the day, it was their decision to make. Two days later, I received a check to secure their room and they will move in mid-March. Thank you for helping improve my skills.

It was great to be reeducated on these great principles and discover new points of view! I feel a sense of re-commitment and renewal to the opportunities I’m given to help others. I’m excited to get back and reestablish our discovery room, do more home visits and spend more time in the “selling zone.”

I found the “ego” portion of the training especially helpful to create awareness within myself of my own barriers to be more effective in helping others.

Respondents from 2013 Nashville training:

[Training] will help me to actually listen actively to my prospects and families. I plan to ask questions and listen more. I think this workshop gives great ideas and methods for knowing our prospects.

I definitely was in a “seller” mindset. I enjoyed learning to have a “helper” mindset. I absolutely loved the personalized stories.

[I plan to enhance my selling efforts by] taking the time for discovery and listening to what [prospects’] needs are instead of offering what we have.

I know it works. I can’t wait to implement more of [the training]. We need to prioritize and make more time to make it happen. I love your approach and concept. Caring/helping versus selling is very helpful, especially in asking the right questions.

I will adopt ideas on a profile for prospects and start doing more home visits with detailed follow-up. There was very useful information from the entire presentation.

I love that you live it. The passion shows.

Respondent from 2012 Chicago training:

Real relationship selling was not a new idea—but what was new, and the epiphany for me, was the understanding of how the process of asking questions allows and supports the prospect in going through the process of understanding and voicing their ambivalence and approaching the difficult and emotional decisions regarding important changes in their lives. The time-intensive, in-depth, strategic, group approach to gaining information, creating advances and creative follow-up will also be helpful—especially defining those activities as being in “the selling zone.”

Respondents from 2012 Toronto training:

Ask better questions, Stay in hero mode, Help individuals understand for themselves what is the best move for them by allowing them to think through the process and have control over the decision. Visit face to face as often as possible and use creative follow up.

I attended the session for an overall overview of the sales process to seniors. Although my role is not that of a sales or marketing person, I found the information to be very helpful should a situation arise where I am required to do a walk-in tour.

Being given the “professional permission” to attend to our seniors’ needs—because it is the right thing to do—validated my own manner. The session gave me the confidence to proceed with a more intuitive, honour-driven approach with the belief that a successful outcome would be assured.

Success need not only mean a full residence, though this is a goal; the public/target audience belief that the business I represent is trustworthy and genuinely interested in the well-being of our elders, regardless of where they choose to live, manifests itself in trust of the organization and faith in the people who represent it…you can’t buy, bully, coerce or trick people into having such a view. When you enjoy a good reputation, you will most certainly have full occupancy, enjoy your work and (perhaps just as important) feel better about the world we live in.

]]>http://oneonone.com/trainees-weigh-in/feed/0What to Measure: Move-ins and Morehttp://oneonone.com/what-to-measure-move-ins-and-more/
http://oneonone.com/what-to-measure-move-ins-and-more/#respondWed, 09 Jan 2013 18:01:50 +0000http://www.oneonone.com/?p=1544In December, ALFA’sSenior Living Executive published the article “Marketing Metrics: How Many Inquiries and Tours to Move-Ins?”.

Author Adam Stone brings together several voices from senior living communities across the country to find what they measure and how their data contributes to a more successful sales and marketing campaign. Discussed in the article are factors such as the number of community professionals that are contacted for referrals and the number of new inquiries that are qualified with follow-up appointments.

]]>http://oneonone.com/what-to-measure-move-ins-and-more/feed/0Positive Trends in Senior Housinghttp://oneonone.com/positive-trends-in-senior-housing/
Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:34:00 +0000http://www.oneonone.com/?p=1144The senior housing occupancy rates continued to inch upward in the fourth quarter of 2011 according to a recent news release from the National Investment Center.

The article notes that while the average occupancy rate increased 0.1 percentage points since last quarter (up 0.7 percent from last year), construction activity continues to decline with 0.4 percent fewer percentage medicinereform points than the previous quarter.

Please see the table below taken from the NIC website, and visit nicmap.org for more senior-living industry research.

Keynote Speakers

(from NIC newsletter):

Senator Tom Daschle – the leading architect of the Affordable Care Act, actively involved in the Bipartisan Policy Center and well-connected voice between the healthcare industry and Washington policy-makers, will assess the realities of healthcare reform, which trends he sees as having their own momentum from the marketplace and which will require political action for changes to take place.

Gary Zimmerman – Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco will provide his perspective on the state of the economy both national and regional with particular focus on job growth and the housing market.

Robert Richman – Culture Architect and former Zappos Manager/Culture Strategist will address the importance of building an environment where residents and staff feel empowered; how customer-focused service and resident-directed care give seniors housing and care residents the opportunity to direct their lives and their care.

Other Speakers:

Brian Fortune, President, Farragut Square Group

Randy Hardock, Partner, Davis & Harman, lobbyist for ASHA

Pat Mulloy, CEO, Elmcroft Senior Living

Mark Parkinson, President, American Health Care Association

Alan Rosenbloom, President, The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care